Godiva quadricolor is a species of sea slug, a nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.[2]
| Godiva quadricolor | |
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| The nudibranch Godiva quadricolor, 40 mm long, Algoa Bay, South Africa, 18-20 m. | |
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| Species: | G. quadricolor
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| Binomial name | |
| Godiva quadricolor | |
| Synonyms | |
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Hervia quadricolor Barnard, 1927 (original combination) | |
Distribution edit
This species was described from St. James, False Bay, South Africa. It occurs on the South African coast from the Cape Peninsula to East London, intertidally to 20 m.[3] It has also been reported from the Mediterranean, off western Australia and West Africa.
Description edit
Godiva quadricolor is a slender pale-bodied nudibranch with many cerata striped in bands of blue, yellow and orange. Its head is orange with rugose orange rhinophores and has a pair of orange oral tentacles with a white central stripe.[4][5] Specimens from Western Australia differ significantly in colour and may represent another species.[6]
Ecology edit
Godiva quadricolor preys on hydroids and on other nudibranchs. Its egg ribbon is a globular mass of white zigzags.
References edit
- ^ Barnard, K.H. (1927) South African nudibranch mollusca, with descriptions of new species, and a note on some specimens from Tristan d'Acunha. Annals of the South African Museum, 25(1): 171-215, Pls 19, 20.
- ^ Rosenberg, G. (2012). Godiva quadricolor. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2012-06-05
- ^ Gosliner, T.M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa ISBN 0-930118-13-8
- ^ Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Jul 21). Godiva quadricolor. [in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.
- ^ Branch, G.M. et al. (2002). Two Oceans. 5th impression. David Philip, Cate Town & Johannesburg.
- ^ Willan, R.C. (1987) Phylogenetic systematics and zoogeography of Australian nudibranchs. 1. Presence of the aeolid Godiva quadricolor (Barnard) in Western Australia. Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia, 8: 71-85.
External links edit
Media related to Godiva quadricolor at Wikimedia Commons
